Inches and Centimeters

2nd graders love to measure!  I don't know what it is, but every year when I introduce the rulers and they realize they get to handle their very own tool, they go crazy.  We measure everything. I mean everything!  It's fun for me as the teacher as well.  I love seeing their eyes light up when I hand them their rulers.  I like showing them that it has two sides, inches and centimeters.  It's like I told them it's Harry Potter's wand.

 

 One of the first things we did was to just talk about measuring things.  I found a pack of measurement posters on teachers pay teachers for $4.00  Here's the link
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Elementary-Measurement-Posters-15-MathScience-PostersHandouts-161647

I put one of the posters up on the SmartBoard and had students copy it into their Math journals.  It was a really good jumping off point and started some good conversation.  We got out the paperclips and measured everything they could think of!

Then we completed this fun little activity in our Math Journals.  They had to use the stripes in the tool box to measure each object.  One was teddy bears the other was paper clips.  This was a great activity to get them ready for inches and centimeters.

I got this from TPT, but can't find the link.  Think it was free though.

(found the link!  here it is:  http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Interactive-Math-Foldable-for-First-Grade-865048)

Of course, I have to use books.  I love this author/illustrator:  Brian P. Cleary.  I have his whole set of Grammar books. My fav title is "To Root, To Toot, To Parachute. What is a Verb?"  This is my first Math book of his and I plan on owning all of them.

Check out his website:  http://www.brianpcleary.com/

This book is excellent.  It tells the history of measuring and is beautifully illustrated by Steven Kellog (another of my fav illustrators).

Millions to Measure included this HUGE fold out page of how long a rattlesnake is.  My 2nd graders were super impressed.





Another measurement activity we worked on was a Measurement Garden.  It is part of a pack I bought on TPT. http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/I-Can-Measure-using-inches-and-centimeters-238504

First, they color their flowers, then put them in order from smallest to largest then glue them on construction paper.

Then they measure each flower in inches and centimeters and write it above the flower.

They loved coloring but they really loved measuring.  They were concentrating to hard to make sure they got each measurement correct.

All in all, I feel pretty confident that my 2nd graders are sufficiently learning the concept of measuring and how to do it correctly,